Slightly OT - Child Nutrition and Health

[Guest guest]

I see the media is bombarding us with info on child nutrition and health - and

not before

time. I haven't been following it as closely as perhaps I should, because

there's an ocean

between us and our beautiful grandchildren, and their parents are very concerned

for

health, nutrition, etc. blah blah blah (except for those dratted Happy Meals?).

Anyway, not

only do we have the American show Honey, We're Killing the Kids (and I caught

one

episode and ran screaming - scary stuff!), but now the British Jamie's School

Lunch Project,

which I caught most of last night. Everything the kids eat at home seems to come

with

chips, and none of them (this was in Durham) seemed to know what a vegetable

*was*!

(Anyone seen this programme?)

 

To cut to the chase: This all made me think of all of you who have kids ;-) and

I was

thinking how valiant you all are (and I kinda take it for granted until I have a

wake-up call

like the programme last evening) in working hard to give your kids the very best

food that

not only looks good but is good for them AND as much as possible to raise them

as

vegetarians or vegans.

 

So hats off to you all and three big cheers! Winners, all!

 

If any have child-friendly recipes to share, that'd be nice too.

 

Best love, Pat

[Guest guest]

Pat wrote:

> To cut to the chase: This all made me think of all of you who have

> kids ;-) and I was

> thinking how valiant you all are (and I kinda take it for granted

> until I have a wake-up call

> like the programme last evening) in working hard to give your kids the

> very best food that

> not only looks good but is good for them AND as much as possible to

> raise them as

> vegetarians or vegans.

>

> So hats off to you all and three big cheers! Winners, all!

>

> If any have child-friendly recipes to share, that'd be nice too.

>

> Best love, Pat

Thanks, Pat, it's not easy! What we have discovered lately is that

Make-Your-Own Whatever meals are great. This covers burritos,

sandwiches, and pizza. I prepare dishes of stuff, all acceptable things

of course (no pepperoni unless it's the fake kind) and everyone puts

together their own meal. This is the least stressful for me, I don't

have to put up with any whining at all about " What's in this thing,

BEANS? " or " I'm not eating THAT. " Burrito meals are corn and flour

tortillas, refried beans, fake sausage crumbles, and diced onion,

tomato, grated fake cheese, salsa, guacamole plus all the seasonings I

keep on a turntable on the center of my dining room table. Sandwiches

are pitas or sliced whole wheat bread and hummus, sliced onion, tomato,

peppers, roasted canned pepper, those nice slabs of sweet pickles, fresh

cucumbers, baby spinach, plus all the mustard jars get hauled out.

Pizza is just sauce, some fake cheese, olives, onions, etc. and everyone

gets to put their own toppings on and practice putting their pizza in

the oven using a peel and stone. Food as a participation sport makes

for great teaching moments, we find.

 

I keep a variety of breads available at all times, including tortillas,

plus cooked brown rice and some type of bean sauce or soup in the

refrigerator. There are also red potatoes that can be microwaved for a

quick snack. I keep fruit ready to eat and allow grazing at all times

unless it's just before a meal and they are stuffing pretzels in their

faces because they don't like what is being served. The rule is, if you

don't like my bean soup you can fill up on bread and wait for the next

meal. No one goes hungry this way, and I don't find myself cooking two

or three meals at once.

 

It has taken over 3 years to wean ourselves from Happy Meals, but our

boys now understand how bad that food is for them when eaten regularly,

and none of it has happened by accident! It's a lot of work but

hopefully they will have a chance at growing up without the problems I

had because of high fat/dairy product diet.

 

Laura

[Guest guest]

Laura wrote:

 

> Pat wrote:

> > To cut to the chase: This all made me think of all of you who have

> > kids ;-) and I was

> > thinking how valiant you all are (and I kinda take it for granted

> > until I have a wake-up call

> > like the programme last evening) in working hard to give your kids the

> > very best food that

> > not only looks good but is good for them AND as much as possible to

> > raise them as

> > vegetarians or vegans.

> >

> > So hats off to you all and three big cheers! Winners, all!

 

I raised to vegetarian children. My step son, now about 29 and my son,

23. almost 24. They both are lifelong

vegetarians.

 

If they don't know how to make choices, how will they handle it later in

life?

 

Thus, when we went out, we asked if they want the delicious fresh

healthy vegetables or the dead cow or dead pig?

They made the choice.

 

They loved salad bars.

 

Both the kids ate very different diets. My step son was a

grapefruitaholic. Luckily we lived in florida and could

get the best in Fresh Squeezed Juice. He was not a vegan and also loved

his pizza. As a child his life's goal was to be a pizza man. A

brilliant kid, an incredible Olympic potential athlete, got badly messed

up in an accident, and never recovered, emotionally or physically.

Honestly, he hit bottom, but never stopped being a vegetarian. From a

full scholarship at college, maybe he'll reach his goal of being a pizza

man.

 

My son was a grain eater. He loved cereals. He still thinks fresh

squeezed oj is the best drink in the world. He also loved burritos, and

super hot Indian food. They all loved buckwheat pancakes. He's

currently in Britain and is amazed how

bad the food is there. He went to a Mexican restaurant and was shocked,

they played cowboy Western music and had

strange shaped food like stuff. He loved pasta with HOT sauce.

He's completing a graduate degree in International Studies, and really

wants to work for diplomacy. However, he's rather conservative, wears

short hair, neat clothing, where did I go wrong? He does have a heart

of gold. I'm pretty poor but he has a rich father....

 

 

Both kids liked veggie juice, fruit smoothies, and food out of my X

wife's gardens. Peas picked fresh taste wonderful.

She was a great gardener, being an advocate of Square Foot Organic

Gardening. She could grow a ton of food in

a small space. She had many labor saving techniques. Like double

digging That meant you took a patch of land

about 3 by 6. She would have me dig all the dirt out. than fill it all

back in. She than had a very effortless garden:-)

 

 

bob

[Guest guest]

i'll take just a wee bit of the thanks because I'm not doing allllll that. But

I do try my best with what i do. I finally saw 'honey, we're killing the kids'

& of course it was over dramatized but hey, that's half the point. I find it

hard to imagine that people really don't know which veggies are which. Is that

really the case? i think if you give a kid good stuff & tell them 'that is your

dinner - eat or go without' they'll eat & learn to like stuff & be willing to

try new things. i think this because this is what I do, lol. and it has worked

for us. My kids will fight over the last portion of veggies! I roast most of

my veggies in olive oil & then add a wee bit of kosher salt before serving. My

kids go nuts over rice & bean dishes, quesadillas, risottos, most soups, baked

beans, salads, they'll eat whatever. And the occasional french fry (gasp). But

so will I. As long as it's not the bulk of their diet, i see no huge harm.

Beth

 

Pat <veggiehound wrote:

in working hard to give your kids the very best food that not only looks good

but is good for them AND as much as possible to raise them as vegetarians or

vegans.

 

So hats off to you all and three big cheers! Winners, all!

 

If any have child-friendly recipes to share, that'd be nice too.

 

Best love, Pat

 

 

Beth

“The right adult at the right time can make an enormous difference. Many kids

have a history of difficult, disappointing relationships and one good

relationship--one person who is there for them--can make a huge difference.”

-Jean E. Rhodes Professor, Psychology at the University of Massachusetts in

Boston.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I've seen Jamie's School Dinners - we loved it - and Honey We're Killing the

Kids (the British version). It is shocking but so true in many cases. I'm a

teacher and the school meals are atrocious! When they are " healthy " its

something like over cooked pasta with overcooked broccoli in an insipid

cheese sauce. Even our dinner ladies have been overheard to say " Eat your

green thing " . Really not good. Jamie's message is catching on... slowly.

Our head is debating the school lunches at the moment.

But often the kids' packed lunches are filled with rubbish like bright

yellow crisps, jam sandwiches and bright blue drinks. In some cases i know

the kids are really picky eaters but in others its not the case.

Have you guys seen You Are What You Eat?

 

 

On 5/9/06, Pat <veggiehound wrote:

>

>

> I see the media is bombarding us with info on child nutrition and health -

> and not before

> time. I haven't been following it as closely as perhaps I should, because

> there's an ocean

> between us and our beautiful grandchildren, and their parents are very

> concerned for

> health, nutrition, etc. blah blah blah (except for those dratted Happy

> Meals?). Anyway, not

> only do we have the American show Honey, We're Killing the Kids (and I

> caught one

> episode and ran screaming - scary stuff!), but now the British Jamie's

> School Lunch Project,

>